Caterpillar (CAT) Competitors

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Do analysts prefer ASTE or CAT?

Astec Industries presently has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.11%. Caterpillar has a consensus price target of $444.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.73%. Given Astec Industries' higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Astec Industries is more favorable than Caterpillar.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Caterpillar	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78

Do institutionals & insiders believe in ASTE or CAT?

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Caterpillar shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Caterpillar shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ASTE or CAT more profitable?

Caterpillar has a net margin of 14.95% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 1.15%. Caterpillar's return on equity of 48.95% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	1.15%	10.72%	6.41%
Caterpillar	14.95%	48.95%	10.60%

Which has more volatility & risk, ASTE or CAT?

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caterpillar has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ASTE or CAT?

Caterpillar has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Caterpillar is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.69	$4.30M	$0.66	59.67
Caterpillar	$64.81B	3.11	$10.79B	$20.52	20.86

Does the media refer more to ASTE or CAT?

In the previous week, Caterpillar had 76 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 81 mentions for Caterpillar and 5 mentions for Astec Industries. Caterpillar's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Astec Industries' score of 0.60 indicating that Caterpillar is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Astec Industries	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Caterpillar	44 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	7 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ASTE or CAT a better dividend stock?

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Caterpillar pays an annual dividend of $6.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Astec Industries pays out 78.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Caterpillar pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Caterpillar has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Caterpillar is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Caterpillar beats Astec Industries on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.